A/N - SCREW IT. I'm starting this now. I'm way too excited for this story. Imma be able to handle two books at a time dun worry huns

"An evil force has risen. In order to defeat it, you must find and gather the seven wonders."

You were jolted awake, your forehead hitting the bottom of the top bunk in the process. You rubbed your forehead in pain and sighed. You've been having the same dream every night for the past few months and it itself was a mystery to you. It was always exactly the same, a hooded girl muttering those words, then you would see a flash of purple, which will cause you to wake up.

"Had that dream again?"

You turned around and saw Emily bending from her bed, her long brown nearly flowing down to the floor. You stared at her hair in jealousy and felt your rough, shoulder-length silver hair. Yes, silver. You were born with silver hair, resulting in the other kids of the orphanage calling you an "elderly child" or "freak." However, Emily didn't think so. She was your one and only friend in the orphanage.

"How did you know?," You still kept rubbing your forehead to ease the pain. You then took your alarm clock and saw that you had woken up thirty minutes earlier than your usual wake up time. You shrugged, at least you could head to the bathroom first.

"I could tell by how your head collided with my bed," Emily said sarcastically before jumping off the bed and sitting next to you. She frowned when she saw your swelling forehead. "Damn, was the dream that bad?"

"It just surprised me, that's it," You were about to rub your forehead again, when Emily held your hand to stop you.

"Don't," Emily gently placed your hand back on your lap. "It will hurt you more if you touch it. Let me get you some ice."

You smiled as you watched Emily walk away and disappear into the kitchen. You remembered the first time you met her, after you were just brought to the orphanage, both of you were really shy and wouldn't say anything to each other. Even though you were roommates, each day would be spent in silence. Now, after living together for ten years, you two were closer than two halves of an apple and were now called the noisiest duo in the orphanage.

One of the rules of the stated was that any child has the freedom to leave and live on their own after turning eighteen. You were seventeen, turning eighteen in a few months and in all honesty, you didn't want to leave because of two reasons. One, Emily was a year younger than you, which that you were going to leave her alone. This was a big no-no for you, especially because of the bullies who tend to pick on you both when no superiors were around. Two, where would you go? You had no family outside, since your orphanage was your home, so leaving would just make you homeless... and alone

Weirdly, you had no memory of your childhood before you were sent to the orphanage. You had no idea who your parents were and there was no information of who you really were. According to Emily, you were easily frightened when you were little and the doctors said it was because of something you experienced before you met her. Since the trauma caused you to keep your mouth shut, the head nun named you Sky, since you were always caught looking at the sky whenever you were outside.

That was one of the reasons why nobody tried to befriend you when you arrived. Besides the fact that you had natural silver hair, you had a mysterious past, which just... frightened everyone.

"Here," You flinched when you felt something cold get slapped on your forehead, then you realized that Emily was standing in front of you. "What are you thinking about? You were day-dreaming."

"...It's nothing," You blinked when you noticed that Emily's pyjamas were drenched, as if she took a dip in the pool with her pants on. "What happened to you? Did you step inside the toilet or something?"

Emily huffed at your statement and wriggled her pants off, right in front of you. This didn't bother you, since the two of you were like sisters and seeing each other naked was a normal thing. "I spilled some water on me while I was getting some ice from the fridge."

"You clutz," You said with a laugh, while Emily slipped on a pair of neon pink shorts.

If there was one sentence that could describe Emily, it was that she was a pink-loving goddess of clumsiness. Even though you weren't really a good cook and she was more experienced than you, you rarely let her touch the stove, since the last time she cooked something resulted into a fire. You couldn't really understand how it happened, since she was just boiling an egg. Because of that, the two of you were forced to do community services for half a year.

"Hey, Sky, I've got... something to tell you," You felt Emily sit next to you and you couldn't see her expression because you were currently tying your hair into a ponytail. However, you knew that she sounded serious.

"Go ahead," When you were done, you looked up and saw Emily staring down at her feet. You stared at her and saw what seemed like a... guilty look in her eyes. You also noticed that she had completely changed her get up and was now wearing her favorite leather jacket. This confused you, since she only wore whenever she was going out. "Emily... what's wrong?"

"Sky, do you remember the day when you went out to find out more about... yourself?," Emily said slowly, knowing that she was touching a sensitive topic.

Emily was talking that day two weeks ago, when you headed to the police station, accompanied by some nuns, to hopefully find out your identity. They had assumed that you would at least be in the roster of missing people but unfortunately, you weren't. It was like you were never supposed to exist in the first place. This was done so that you'd have somewhere to go to after being released from the orphanage but... "Yeah... why?"

"Well, while you were out, this couple came to adopt a kid," You expected Emily to continue but instead, she stopped and just stared right at you with the saddest expression that you've ever seen.

"What... what are you trying to say?," You already had an idea of what Emily was trying to tell you but you didn't want to assume anything until you heard it from her yourself.

"...They chose me," Emily's words made you pause. She started playing with the hem of her shirt, an action she only did when she was nervous or scared. "I'm getting adopted. They're due to pick me up in a few hours."

You blinked, taking a few minutes to absorb what you just heard. You didn't know what exactly you were feeling, since you were both happy and sad. Happy, because Emily finally found a loving family, which she deserved after watching her parents die when she was younger, and she will at least spend the remaining years of her youth with parents by her side. It also meant that she wouldn't be left alone after you turn eighteen.

Still, you couldn't help but feel sad... because you'll be left alone earlier than expected.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you earlier, Sky," Emily said, her fingers digging into your shoulder blades, tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I didn't know how I was supposed to tell you. I thought you were going to be mad so I---"

"It's okay, Em. I'm not mad. Just... don't cry, okay? You know that I hate seeing you cry," You said while holding Emily's arms. Even after you said that, she was still crying. "Don't be sad. You're finally going to have a family, just like you always wanted! You should be happy."

"But... you'll be alone," Emily said with a sniff and honestly, you weren't sure of how you were going to reassure about that, since it was true.

"I was bound to be alone, anyway," You said as you gave Emily a big hug and let her cry on your shoulder. "I'll be fine, Em."

You hoped so.

-

Knowing that the two of you would be separated soon, you and Enily spent the whole day together. You were glad that the nuns were considerate enough to let you do whatever you want with her, since chances of meeting with her again was slim, especially because her new parents were moving to another country.

There were times when Emily would suddenly break down and cry, which would make you cry too. Both of you were going to miss each other badly and knowing that they couldn't do anything about it just saddened them even more.

Now the two of you were standing in front of the orphanage's gate, waiting for Emily's new parents to pick her up. You were both silent not really knowing what words were supposed to be said.

You kicked the air as you dragged Emily's huge luggage case behind you. Emily was once again playing with the hem of her shirt and you could hear her keychain jingle with her every movement.

"We'll see other again, right Sky?," Emily said without making eye contact. You knew what the answer to her question was but you didn't want to depress her, especially during her last days in the orphanage.

"We will, Em...," Your words trailed when the clangs of the metal gate rang and a silver cadillac rolled in. For a moment, your jaw dropped, Emily looking just as shocked as you. Still, you were glad that Emily was going to grow up in a well-off family. "I know we will."

-

Two weeks had passed since then and no words could describe how much you missed Emily. Sometimes, you would wake up in the middle of the night because of your dream and would expect her to comfort you. Then, you'd realize that she was gone and would end up crying yourself to sleep.

You also couldn't forget the look that her parents had after they saw you. You didn't know if it was because of your silver hair but... they stared at you as if you were a freak.

Thankfully, none of the bullies bothered you for the last few weeks but you knew that the peace wouldn't last long. You could feel everyone's eyes on you as you picked on your food.

You were a big eater but you didn't have an appetite because you were eating alone. This didn't bother, since you just got used to sitting alone for two weeks.

"Hey there, sugar plum~"

You sighed heavily and chewed your steak, the presence of multiple people right behind you. You didn't want to deal with anyone today, so you decided to ignore them.

"Can't a girl eat in peace?," You mumbled, only loud enough for you to hear. You heard the chairs next to creak as you chugged down a glass of iced tea.

"You've been a lot more silent ever since your friend was adopted. What was her name? Emelle?," Dan, the orphanage's bully who found pleasure in making of everyone, said while putting an arm around your shoulder.

You slapped away his arm, stunning him. "Her name was Emily. Leave me alone."

"Don't you want some company? We'll be happy to entertain you," Dan said flirtatiously while his friend started uncomfortably touching my thigh. I immediately stepped on his foot, making him grunt and retreat.

"Don't touch me," I hissed at Dan, pointing at his face with my fork, which still had a piece of steak on it. "I said leave me alone."

You shrieked when Dan suddenly grabbed your hair and tugged, making you feel like your scalp was going to tear off your head. This caught the attention of the other children but all they did was stare. That's what they always did. Everyone was afraid of Dan because of his violent personality and only you and Emily had the guts to stand up to him.

"Nobody says no to me, Sky," Dan spat, sparing a glance at his friend, before you felt your jacket being pulled off you forcefully. You did your best to fight back, especially because it was Emily's leather jacket and she had given it to you before leaving.

"Let go of me!," You screamed and thrashed, the staring of the others becoming more intense. Still, they didn't help you.

They never did.

Suddenly, Dan's head slammed on the table, the combination of his scream and the sound of cracking wood catching the attention of every person in the room. You stared at the foot that was literally stepping on Dan's face and turned around to stare at its owner.

You didn't recognize the boy in the hoodie and dark shades but you knew that he didn't like what he was seeing. His face was so concealed that you could only see some strands of his brown hair stciking out of his hood. His hands were in his pocket, making him look casual, despite the situation.

"You heard the girl," The man growled and you were surprised by how husky his voice sounded. "Let go of her."

"Who the hell are you?," Dan managed to squeak out, his words unclear due to how compressed his cheeks were.

"He's the new kid," Dan's friend whispered, which made your ears perk in curiosity. New kid? He looked around your age, so hearing that he was a new kid made you a bit suspicious. "He came here this morning."

"Tch, you have the guts to go against me," Dan stood up after the man finally released him. He made a battle stance before glaring at you. "Stay here. I'm coming back after I beat this guy senseless."

Dan charged towards the man, who was just staring at him without worry. Once Dan was close enough, the man grabbed his collar and did a series of martial art moves that just made your jaw drop. Then, Dan was on the floor, coughing up blood.

By now, all the children have formed a circle around you, surprised that the Dan had just been beaten up by the new kid. This scene made you smirk. Oddly enough, you enjoyed Dan's suffering.

The man glared at Dan's friend through his thick shades, the latter immediately dropping your jacket before leaving, while dragging away an unconscious Dan.

Then, the man turned and glared at the circle of students. One thing was for sure, even with those shades, he still had an intimidating stare. "What are you looking at?"

The students scattered around like a bunch of ants, which was slightly amusing to you. Everything then resumed, as if nothing happened.

You stared at the man as he picked up your jacket and handed it to you. You stared at him, only now noticing that there was a strange glow behind his shades, as if it came from his eyes... "Here. They won't bother you from now on."

And he was right. Dan no longer bothered you after that and the rest of the day was spent in peace and quiet. The man who had saved you refused to give out his name and left immediately after you thanked him. Strangely enough, you couldn't see him around the compound.

You were all dressed to sleep when he heard loud bangs from your door. You wanted to ignore it but frowned when the bangs became more persistent, as if the person behind that door was angry.

After a few moments of hesitation, you unlocked all five locks on your door and swung it open. You blinked when you became face to face with the hooded man, the new kid, who had saved you earlier. You wondered why he was here and how he knew which room was yours.

"Uh, hi, what are you---"

The man suddenly grabbed you by throat and slammed you on the wall across your door, his teeth gritted in anger. You struggled to breath as you clawed his arms, not understanding why he was suddenly trying to kill you, after he had helped earlier.

"Who are you?," The man said with a low growl, which frightened you. His shades had fallen to the tip of his nose and now you could clearly see his eyes.

They were black. They weren't the normal brown color the human eye had, it was just solid black. It was like you were staring at an endless pit of darkness.

"I said," The man moved even closer to you, your noses nearly touching and his hot breath hitting your face. You did your best to look away from his sickening black eyes. "Who. Are. You?"

"M-My name is---"

"I don't want to know your name, Sky," The man hissed, his eyes darkening even more, if possible, and you could tell that he was really angry. "I heard your voice in my head. You were talking to me in my sleep. I'll ask you one last time, who are you?"

I don't know.

Before you could completely be deprived of oxygen, there was a loud explosion, causing the both of you to fly a foot from your original position.

Your mouth gaped when you saw a gigantic hole in the roof, some of the wood still burning. There was a crater on the exact place where you and the man were standing. Then, after seeing the man on top of you, you realized that he had pushed you away.

Then, there was a scream. Not a human scream, but it was a monster's scream, the kind that you can hear from the movies. You looked up and saw the scream's owner, which made your eyes so wide that you swore they were going to pop out of your head.

"What the heck is that?"